Nazarene church in Holton gets new pastor, name

Holton’s Nazarene church has changed names and leadership recently.

Kevin Kneisley has been serving as the pastor of New Life Church of the Nazarene in Holton for several months and will be officially installed as pastor on Sunday, Nov. 1.

“I prayed about taking over the church, and I believe that Jesus wants to breathe new life into the church,” Kneisley said. “He wants the church to stay open and that was the reason for the name change.”

Kneisley, who resides in Hiawatha, began serving as an associate pastor for the church, located at 219 New York Ave., in January as he finished his seminary degree through Nazarene Bible College in Colorado.

“When I came, I was completing my supervised ministry experience, which is like student teaching for pastors,” he said. “This was the closest Nazarene church.”

Kneisley spent 19 years teaching before switching to ministry. He taught in Hutchinson, as well as in Georgia, where he developed broadcast studios for high school students. In the latter part of his teaching career, he was working with teachers on integrating technology into their classrooms.

He was born in Kansas City, but, with parents in the military, the family moved around a lot. After high school, he attended Kansas State University.

“I’ve always called Kansas home,” he said.

Kneisley said he knew he had the gifts of preaching and teaching but “avoided the preaching part.”

“Teaching jobs kept closing with budget cuts, and I realized God was calling me to be a pastor,” he said.

He has spent the past four years earning a degree online from the Bible college. He graduated in July.

“I think the people are wonderful,” he said of the local church. “There are changes that need to be made, but I feel like those changes need to be decided by the church community.”

On the first Wednesday of the month, the church hosts a Manna House, which is a free, hot meal served at the church for anyone in need.

Kneisley is also building a smart phone application for church members to stay connected with church events.

“They’ll be able to see videos and access a calendar of events from their phone,” he said.

Church services are held each Sunday at 10:45 a.m. with Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. A Bible study is also held at 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday at the church.

Kneisley said that a new Saturday service is being planned for 5 p.m., which is being dubbed “Saturday Night 5ive.”

Kneisley and his wife, Janice, have two sons, Kris, and Korey, who are both high school students at Hiawatha.

For more information about the church, call 364-3642 or visit www.holtonnaz.org